1110987654321[כיטחזוהדגבא]מנסעפצקרשתל[לכיטחזוהדגא]orמנסעפצקרשתבThese anagramic alphabets obtain their respective names from the first two specimen pairs of letter which indicate the interchange. Thus, for instance, the first is calledAlbathאל״בתfrom the first words, the secondAbgathאב״גת, and so on. The following table exhibits the established rules of the alphabetical permutations.כםינטסחעזפוצהקדרגשבתאל1.Albath.לםכניסטעחפזצוקהרדשגתאב2.Abgath.במלנכסיעטפחצזקורהשדתאג3.Agdath.נמלסכעיפטצחקזרושהתבגאד4.Adbag.גנמסלעכפיצטקחרזשותבדאה5.Ahbad.נסמעלפכציקטרחשזתגדבהאו6.Avba.דסנעמפלצכקירטשחתגהבואז7.Azbav.סענפמצלקכרישטתדהגובזאח8.Achbaz.העספנצמקלרכשיתדוגזבחאט9.Atbach.עפסצנקמרלשכתהודזגחבטאי10.Aibat.ופעצסקנרמשלתהזדחגטביאכ11.Achbi.פצעקסרנשמתוזהחדטגיבכאל12.Albach.וצפקערסשנתוחהטדיגכבלאמ13.Ambal.צקפרעשסתזחוטהידכגלבמאנ14.Anbam.חקצרפשעתזטויהכדלגםבנאס15.Asban.קרצשפתחטזיוכהלדמגנבסאע16.Aabas.טרקשטתחיזכולהמדנגסבעאפ17.Afba.רשקתטיחכזלומהנדסגעבפאצ18.Azbaf.ישרתטכחלזמונהסדעגפבצאק19.Akbaz.שתיכטלחמזנוסהעדפגצבקאר20.Arbak.כתילטמחנזסועהפדצגכבראש21.Ashbar.כלימטנחסזעופהצדקגרבשאת22.Athbash.To this list is to be added—שתקרפצסעמנכלטיזחהוגדאב23.Abgad.כתישטרחקזצופהעדסגנבםאל24.Albam.[138]Besides these canons the Kabbalah also sees a recondite sense in the form of the letters, as well as in the ornaments which adorn them.As to the relation of the Kabbalah to Christianity, it is maintained that this theosophy propounds the doctrine of the trinity and the sufferings of Messiah. How far this is true may be ascertained from the following passages.30“We have already remarked in several places that the daily liturgical declaration about the divine unity is that which is indicated in the Bible ( Deut. vi, 43 ), whereJehovahoccurs first, thenElohenu, and then againJehovah, which three together constitute a unity, and for this reason he [i.e., Jehovah] is in the said place called one (אחד), But there are three names, and how can they be one? And although we read one (אחד), are they really one? Now this is revealed by the vision of the Holy Ghost, and when the eyes are closed we get to know that the three are only one. This is also the mystery of the voice. The voice is only one, find yet it consists of three elements, fire [i.e., warmth], air [i.e., breath], and water [i.e., humidity], yet are all these one in the mystery of the voice, and can only be one. Thus also Jehovah, Elohenu, and Jehovah constitute one—three forms which are one. And this is indicated by the voice which man raises [i.e., at prayer], thereby to comprehend spiritually the most perfect unity of theEn Sophfor the finite, since all the three [i.e., Jehovah, Elohenu, Jehovah] are rend with the same loud voice, which comprises in itself a trinity. And this is the daily confession of the divine unity which, as a mystery, is revealed by the Holy Ghost. This unity has been explained[139]in different ways, yet he who understands it in this way is right, and he who understands it in another way is also right. The idea of unity, however formed by us here below, from the mystery of the audible voice which is one, explains the thing.” (Sohar, ii, 43b.)On another occasion we are informed that R. Eleazar, whilst sitting with his father R. Simeon, was anxious to know how the two names,JehovahandElohim, can be interchanged, seeing that the one denotesmercyand the otherjudgment. Before giving the discussion between the father and the son, it is necessary to remark that whenever the two divine names, Adonai (אדוני) and Jehovah (יהוה), immediately follow each other,Jehovahis pointed and read (יְהֹוִה)Elohim. The reason of this, as it is generally supposed, is to avoid the repetition of Adonai, Adonai, since the Tetragrammaton is otherwise always pointed and read (יְהֹוָה). The Kabbalah, however, as we shall see, discovers in it a recondite meaning,31“R. Eleazar, when sitting before his father R. Simeon, said to him, we have been taught that wheneverElohim(אלהיﬦ) occurs, it denotesJustice. Now how canElohimsometimes be put forJehovah, as is the case in those passages whereinAdonai(אדוני) andJehovah(יהוה) stand together (Comp. Gen. xv, 8 ; Ezek. ii, 4 , &c.), seeing that the latter denotesmercyin all the passages in which it occurs? To which he replied, Thus it is said in the Scripture, ‘Know therefore this day and consider it in thine heart, thatJehovahisElohim’ ( Deut.iv, 19 ); and again it is written ‘JehovahisElohim.’ (Ibid., ver. 35 .) Whereupon he [i.e., the son] said, I know this forsooth, that justice is sometimes tempered with[140]mercy and mercy with justice. Quoth he [i.e., the father], Come and see that it is so; Jehovah indeed does signify mercy whenever it occurs, but when through sin mercy is changed into justice, then it is written Jehovah (יהוה), but readElohim(אלהיﬦ). Now come and see the mystery of the word [i.e., Jehovah]. There are three degrees, and each degree exists by itself [i.e., in the Deity], although the three together constitute one, they are closely united into one and are inseparable from each other.” (Sohar, iii, 65a.)We shall only give one more passage bearing on the subject of the Trinity.32“He who reads the word (אחד)One[i.e., in the declaration of the divine unityשמע] must pronouncethe Aleph(א) quickly, shorten its sound a little, and not pause at all by this letter, and he who obeys this, his life will be lengthened. Whereupon they [i.e., the disciples] said to him [i.e., to R. Ilai], he [i.e., R. Simeon] has said, There are two, and one is connected with them, and they are three; but in being three they are one. He said to them, those two names, Jehovah Jehovah, are in the declaration ‘Hear O Israel’ ( Deut. vi, 4 ), andElohenu(אלהנו), between them, is united with them as the third, and this is the conclusion which is sealed with the impression ofTruth(אמת). But when these three are combined into a unity, they are one in a single unity.” (Sohar, iii, 262a.) Indeed one Codex of theSoharhad the following remark on the words “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts” ( Isa. iv, 3 );קדוש זה אב קדוש זה בן קדוש זה רוחהקדש,the first holy refers to the Holy Father; the second to the Holy Son; and the third to the Holy[141]Ghost.33This passage, however, is omitted from the present recensions of theSohar. Some Jewish writers have felt these passages to be so favourable to the doctrine of the Trinity, that they insist upon their being interpolations into theSohar, whilst others have tried to explain them as referring to theSephiroth.34As to the atonement of the Messiah for the sins of the people, this is not only propounded in theSohar, but is given as the explanation of the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah.35“When the righteous are visited with sufferings and afflictions to atone for the sins of the world, it is that they might atone for all the sins of this generation. How is this proved? By all the members of the body. When all members suffer, one member is afflicted in order that all may recover. And which of them? The arm. The arm is beaten, the blood is taken from it, and then the recovery of all the members of the body is secured. So it is with the children of the world: they are members one of another. When the Holy One; blessed be he, wishes the recovery of the world, he afflicts one righteous from their midst, and for his sake all are healed. How is this shown? It is written—‘He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, … and with his stripes we are healed.’ ( Isa. liii, 5 .) ‘With his stripes,’i.e., healed, as by the wound of bleeding an arm, and with this wound we are healed,i.e., it was a healing to[142]each one of us as members of the body.” (Sohar, iii, 218a.) To the same effect is the following passage.36“Those souls which tarry in the nether garden of Eden hover about the world, and when they see suffering or patient martyrs and those who suffer for the unity of God, they return and mention it to the Messiah. When they tell the Messiah of the afflictions of Israel in exile, and that the sinners among them do not reflect in order to know their Lord, he raises his voice and weeps because of those sinners, as it is written, ‘he is wounded for our transgressions.’ ( Isa. liii, 5 .) Whereupon those souls return and take their place. In the garden of Eden there is one palace which is called the palace of the sick. The Messiah goes into this palace and invokes all the sufferings, pain, and afflictions of Israel to come upon him, and they all come upon him. Now if he did not remove them thus and take them upon himself, no man could endure the sufferings of Israel, due as punishment for transgressing the Law; as it is written—‘Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows,’&c. ( Isa. liii, 4 , with Rom. xii, 3, 4 .) When the children of Israel were in the Holy Land they removed all those sufferings and afflictions from the world by their prayers and sacrifices, but now the Messiah removes them from the world.” (Sohar, ii, 212b.)That these opinions favour, to a certain extent, the doctrines of the Trinity and the Atonement, though not in the orthodox sense, is not only admitted by many of the Jewish literati who are adverse to the Kabbalah, but by some of its[143]friends. Indeed, the very fact that so large a number of Kabbalists have from time to time embraced the Christian faith would of itself show that there must be some sort of affinity between the tenets of the respective systems. Some of these converts occupied the highest position in the Synagogue, both as pious Jews and literary men. We need only specify Paul Ricci, physician to the Emperor Maximilian I; Julius Conrad Otto, author ofThe Unveiled Secrets(גלא רזיא), consisting of extracts from theTalmudand theSohar, to prove the validity of the Christian doctrine (Nürenberg, 1805); John Stephen Rittengal, grandson of the celebrated Don Isaac Abravanel, and translator ofThe Book Jetzira, orof Creation(ספר יצירה), into Latin (Amsterdam, 1642); and Jacob Frank, the great apostle of the Kabbalah in the eighteenth century, whose example in professing Christianity was followed by several thousands of his disciples.37The testimony of these distinguished Kabbalists, which they give in their elaborate works, about the affinity of some of the doctrines of this theosophy with those of Christianity, is by no means to be slighted; and this is fully corroborated by the celebrated Leo di Modena, who, as an orthodox Jew, went so far as to question whether God will ever forgive those who printed the Kabbalistic works.38The use made by some well-meaning Christians of the above-named Kabbalistic canons of interpretation, in controversies with Jews, to prove that the doctrines of Christianity are concealed under the letter of the Old Testament, will now be deprecated by every one who has any regard for the laws of language. As a literary curiosity, however, we shall give one or two specimens. No less a person than the celebrated[144]Reuchlin would have it that the doctrine of the Trinity is to be found in the first verse of Genesis. He submits, if the Hebrew wordברא, which is translatedcreated, be examined, and if each of the three letters composing this word be taken as the initial of a separate word, we obtain the expressionsבן רוח אבSon,Spirit,Father, according to Rule 2 (p.131). Upon the same principle this erudite scholar deduces the first two persons in the Trinity from the words—“the stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner” ( Ps. cxviii, 22 ), by dividing the three letters composing the wordאבןstone, intoאב בןFather,Son(Comp.De VerboMirifico, Basel, 1494). In more recent times we find it maintained that the ‘righteousness’ spoken of in Daniel ix, 24 , meansthe Anointed of Jehovah, because the original phrase,צדק עלמיםis by Gematria, = numerical value, (which is Rule 1, given above, p.131), the same asמשיח יהוה. So pleased is the author with this discovery, that he takes great care to remark—“It is a proof which I believe has hitherto escaped the notice of interpreters.” Such proofs, however, of the Messiaship of Christ bring no honour to our religion; and in the present day argue badly both against him who adduces them and against him who is convinced by them.[145]
1110987654321[כיטחזוהדגבא]מנסעפצקרשתל[לכיטחזוהדגא]orמנסעפצקרשתבThese anagramic alphabets obtain their respective names from the first two specimen pairs of letter which indicate the interchange. Thus, for instance, the first is calledAlbathאל״בתfrom the first words, the secondAbgathאב״גת, and so on. The following table exhibits the established rules of the alphabetical permutations.כםינטסחעזפוצהקדרגשבתאל1.Albath.לםכניסטעחפזצוקהרדשגתאב2.Abgath.במלנכסיעטפחצזקורהשדתאג3.Agdath.נמלסכעיפטצחקזרושהתבגאד4.Adbag.גנמסלעכפיצטקחרזשותבדאה5.Ahbad.נסמעלפכציקטרחשזתגדבהאו6.Avba.דסנעמפלצכקירטשחתגהבואז7.Azbav.סענפמצלקכרישטתדהגובזאח8.Achbaz.העספנצמקלרכשיתדוגזבחאט9.Atbach.עפסצנקמרלשכתהודזגחבטאי10.Aibat.ופעצסקנרמשלתהזדחגטביאכ11.Achbi.פצעקסרנשמתוזהחדטגיבכאל12.Albach.וצפקערסשנתוחהטדיגכבלאמ13.Ambal.צקפרעשסתזחוטהידכגלבמאנ14.Anbam.חקצרפשעתזטויהכדלגםבנאס15.Asban.קרצשפתחטזיוכהלדמגנבסאע16.Aabas.טרקשטתחיזכולהמדנגסבעאפ17.Afba.רשקתטיחכזלומהנדסגעבפאצ18.Azbaf.ישרתטכחלזמונהסדעגפבצאק19.Akbaz.שתיכטלחמזנוסהעדפגצבקאר20.Arbak.כתילטמחנזסועהפדצגכבראש21.Ashbar.כלימטנחסזעופהצדקגרבשאת22.Athbash.To this list is to be added—שתקרפצסעמנכלטיזחהוגדאב23.Abgad.כתישטרחקזצופהעדסגנבםאל24.Albam.[138]Besides these canons the Kabbalah also sees a recondite sense in the form of the letters, as well as in the ornaments which adorn them.As to the relation of the Kabbalah to Christianity, it is maintained that this theosophy propounds the doctrine of the trinity and the sufferings of Messiah. How far this is true may be ascertained from the following passages.30“We have already remarked in several places that the daily liturgical declaration about the divine unity is that which is indicated in the Bible ( Deut. vi, 43 ), whereJehovahoccurs first, thenElohenu, and then againJehovah, which three together constitute a unity, and for this reason he [i.e., Jehovah] is in the said place called one (אחד), But there are three names, and how can they be one? And although we read one (אחד), are they really one? Now this is revealed by the vision of the Holy Ghost, and when the eyes are closed we get to know that the three are only one. This is also the mystery of the voice. The voice is only one, find yet it consists of three elements, fire [i.e., warmth], air [i.e., breath], and water [i.e., humidity], yet are all these one in the mystery of the voice, and can only be one. Thus also Jehovah, Elohenu, and Jehovah constitute one—three forms which are one. And this is indicated by the voice which man raises [i.e., at prayer], thereby to comprehend spiritually the most perfect unity of theEn Sophfor the finite, since all the three [i.e., Jehovah, Elohenu, Jehovah] are rend with the same loud voice, which comprises in itself a trinity. And this is the daily confession of the divine unity which, as a mystery, is revealed by the Holy Ghost. This unity has been explained[139]in different ways, yet he who understands it in this way is right, and he who understands it in another way is also right. The idea of unity, however formed by us here below, from the mystery of the audible voice which is one, explains the thing.” (Sohar, ii, 43b.)On another occasion we are informed that R. Eleazar, whilst sitting with his father R. Simeon, was anxious to know how the two names,JehovahandElohim, can be interchanged, seeing that the one denotesmercyand the otherjudgment. Before giving the discussion between the father and the son, it is necessary to remark that whenever the two divine names, Adonai (אדוני) and Jehovah (יהוה), immediately follow each other,Jehovahis pointed and read (יְהֹוִה)Elohim. The reason of this, as it is generally supposed, is to avoid the repetition of Adonai, Adonai, since the Tetragrammaton is otherwise always pointed and read (יְהֹוָה). The Kabbalah, however, as we shall see, discovers in it a recondite meaning,31“R. Eleazar, when sitting before his father R. Simeon, said to him, we have been taught that wheneverElohim(אלהיﬦ) occurs, it denotesJustice. Now how canElohimsometimes be put forJehovah, as is the case in those passages whereinAdonai(אדוני) andJehovah(יהוה) stand together (Comp. Gen. xv, 8 ; Ezek. ii, 4 , &c.), seeing that the latter denotesmercyin all the passages in which it occurs? To which he replied, Thus it is said in the Scripture, ‘Know therefore this day and consider it in thine heart, thatJehovahisElohim’ ( Deut.iv, 19 ); and again it is written ‘JehovahisElohim.’ (Ibid., ver. 35 .) Whereupon he [i.e., the son] said, I know this forsooth, that justice is sometimes tempered with[140]mercy and mercy with justice. Quoth he [i.e., the father], Come and see that it is so; Jehovah indeed does signify mercy whenever it occurs, but when through sin mercy is changed into justice, then it is written Jehovah (יהוה), but readElohim(אלהיﬦ). Now come and see the mystery of the word [i.e., Jehovah]. There are three degrees, and each degree exists by itself [i.e., in the Deity], although the three together constitute one, they are closely united into one and are inseparable from each other.” (Sohar, iii, 65a.)We shall only give one more passage bearing on the subject of the Trinity.32“He who reads the word (אחד)One[i.e., in the declaration of the divine unityשמע] must pronouncethe Aleph(א) quickly, shorten its sound a little, and not pause at all by this letter, and he who obeys this, his life will be lengthened. Whereupon they [i.e., the disciples] said to him [i.e., to R. Ilai], he [i.e., R. Simeon] has said, There are two, and one is connected with them, and they are three; but in being three they are one. He said to them, those two names, Jehovah Jehovah, are in the declaration ‘Hear O Israel’ ( Deut. vi, 4 ), andElohenu(אלהנו), between them, is united with them as the third, and this is the conclusion which is sealed with the impression ofTruth(אמת). But when these three are combined into a unity, they are one in a single unity.” (Sohar, iii, 262a.) Indeed one Codex of theSoharhad the following remark on the words “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts” ( Isa. iv, 3 );קדוש זה אב קדוש זה בן קדוש זה רוחהקדש,the first holy refers to the Holy Father; the second to the Holy Son; and the third to the Holy[141]Ghost.33This passage, however, is omitted from the present recensions of theSohar. Some Jewish writers have felt these passages to be so favourable to the doctrine of the Trinity, that they insist upon their being interpolations into theSohar, whilst others have tried to explain them as referring to theSephiroth.34As to the atonement of the Messiah for the sins of the people, this is not only propounded in theSohar, but is given as the explanation of the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah.35“When the righteous are visited with sufferings and afflictions to atone for the sins of the world, it is that they might atone for all the sins of this generation. How is this proved? By all the members of the body. When all members suffer, one member is afflicted in order that all may recover. And which of them? The arm. The arm is beaten, the blood is taken from it, and then the recovery of all the members of the body is secured. So it is with the children of the world: they are members one of another. When the Holy One; blessed be he, wishes the recovery of the world, he afflicts one righteous from their midst, and for his sake all are healed. How is this shown? It is written—‘He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, … and with his stripes we are healed.’ ( Isa. liii, 5 .) ‘With his stripes,’i.e., healed, as by the wound of bleeding an arm, and with this wound we are healed,i.e., it was a healing to[142]each one of us as members of the body.” (Sohar, iii, 218a.) To the same effect is the following passage.36“Those souls which tarry in the nether garden of Eden hover about the world, and when they see suffering or patient martyrs and those who suffer for the unity of God, they return and mention it to the Messiah. When they tell the Messiah of the afflictions of Israel in exile, and that the sinners among them do not reflect in order to know their Lord, he raises his voice and weeps because of those sinners, as it is written, ‘he is wounded for our transgressions.’ ( Isa. liii, 5 .) Whereupon those souls return and take their place. In the garden of Eden there is one palace which is called the palace of the sick. The Messiah goes into this palace and invokes all the sufferings, pain, and afflictions of Israel to come upon him, and they all come upon him. Now if he did not remove them thus and take them upon himself, no man could endure the sufferings of Israel, due as punishment for transgressing the Law; as it is written—‘Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows,’&c. ( Isa. liii, 4 , with Rom. xii, 3, 4 .) When the children of Israel were in the Holy Land they removed all those sufferings and afflictions from the world by their prayers and sacrifices, but now the Messiah removes them from the world.” (Sohar, ii, 212b.)That these opinions favour, to a certain extent, the doctrines of the Trinity and the Atonement, though not in the orthodox sense, is not only admitted by many of the Jewish literati who are adverse to the Kabbalah, but by some of its[143]friends. Indeed, the very fact that so large a number of Kabbalists have from time to time embraced the Christian faith would of itself show that there must be some sort of affinity between the tenets of the respective systems. Some of these converts occupied the highest position in the Synagogue, both as pious Jews and literary men. We need only specify Paul Ricci, physician to the Emperor Maximilian I; Julius Conrad Otto, author ofThe Unveiled Secrets(גלא רזיא), consisting of extracts from theTalmudand theSohar, to prove the validity of the Christian doctrine (Nürenberg, 1805); John Stephen Rittengal, grandson of the celebrated Don Isaac Abravanel, and translator ofThe Book Jetzira, orof Creation(ספר יצירה), into Latin (Amsterdam, 1642); and Jacob Frank, the great apostle of the Kabbalah in the eighteenth century, whose example in professing Christianity was followed by several thousands of his disciples.37The testimony of these distinguished Kabbalists, which they give in their elaborate works, about the affinity of some of the doctrines of this theosophy with those of Christianity, is by no means to be slighted; and this is fully corroborated by the celebrated Leo di Modena, who, as an orthodox Jew, went so far as to question whether God will ever forgive those who printed the Kabbalistic works.38The use made by some well-meaning Christians of the above-named Kabbalistic canons of interpretation, in controversies with Jews, to prove that the doctrines of Christianity are concealed under the letter of the Old Testament, will now be deprecated by every one who has any regard for the laws of language. As a literary curiosity, however, we shall give one or two specimens. No less a person than the celebrated[144]Reuchlin would have it that the doctrine of the Trinity is to be found in the first verse of Genesis. He submits, if the Hebrew wordברא, which is translatedcreated, be examined, and if each of the three letters composing this word be taken as the initial of a separate word, we obtain the expressionsבן רוח אבSon,Spirit,Father, according to Rule 2 (p.131). Upon the same principle this erudite scholar deduces the first two persons in the Trinity from the words—“the stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner” ( Ps. cxviii, 22 ), by dividing the three letters composing the wordאבןstone, intoאב בןFather,Son(Comp.De VerboMirifico, Basel, 1494). In more recent times we find it maintained that the ‘righteousness’ spoken of in Daniel ix, 24 , meansthe Anointed of Jehovah, because the original phrase,צדק עלמיםis by Gematria, = numerical value, (which is Rule 1, given above, p.131), the same asמשיח יהוה. So pleased is the author with this discovery, that he takes great care to remark—“It is a proof which I believe has hitherto escaped the notice of interpreters.” Such proofs, however, of the Messiaship of Christ bring no honour to our religion; and in the present day argue badly both against him who adduces them and against him who is convinced by them.[145]
1110987654321[כיטחזוהדגבא]מנסעפצקרשתל[לכיטחזוהדגא]orמנסעפצקרשתבThese anagramic alphabets obtain their respective names from the first two specimen pairs of letter which indicate the interchange. Thus, for instance, the first is calledAlbathאל״בתfrom the first words, the secondAbgathאב״גת, and so on. The following table exhibits the established rules of the alphabetical permutations.כםינטסחעזפוצהקדרגשבתאל1.Albath.לםכניסטעחפזצוקהרדשגתאב2.Abgath.במלנכסיעטפחצזקורהשדתאג3.Agdath.נמלסכעיפטצחקזרושהתבגאד4.Adbag.גנמסלעכפיצטקחרזשותבדאה5.Ahbad.נסמעלפכציקטרחשזתגדבהאו6.Avba.דסנעמפלצכקירטשחתגהבואז7.Azbav.סענפמצלקכרישטתדהגובזאח8.Achbaz.העספנצמקלרכשיתדוגזבחאט9.Atbach.עפסצנקמרלשכתהודזגחבטאי10.Aibat.ופעצסקנרמשלתהזדחגטביאכ11.Achbi.פצעקסרנשמתוזהחדטגיבכאל12.Albach.וצפקערסשנתוחהטדיגכבלאמ13.Ambal.צקפרעשסתזחוטהידכגלבמאנ14.Anbam.חקצרפשעתזטויהכדלגםבנאס15.Asban.קרצשפתחטזיוכהלדמגנבסאע16.Aabas.טרקשטתחיזכולהמדנגסבעאפ17.Afba.רשקתטיחכזלומהנדסגעבפאצ18.Azbaf.ישרתטכחלזמונהסדעגפבצאק19.Akbaz.שתיכטלחמזנוסהעדפגצבקאר20.Arbak.כתילטמחנזסועהפדצגכבראש21.Ashbar.כלימטנחסזעופהצדקגרבשאת22.Athbash.To this list is to be added—שתקרפצסעמנכלטיזחהוגדאב23.Abgad.כתישטרחקזצופהעדסגנבםאל24.Albam.[138]Besides these canons the Kabbalah also sees a recondite sense in the form of the letters, as well as in the ornaments which adorn them.As to the relation of the Kabbalah to Christianity, it is maintained that this theosophy propounds the doctrine of the trinity and the sufferings of Messiah. How far this is true may be ascertained from the following passages.30“We have already remarked in several places that the daily liturgical declaration about the divine unity is that which is indicated in the Bible ( Deut. vi, 43 ), whereJehovahoccurs first, thenElohenu, and then againJehovah, which three together constitute a unity, and for this reason he [i.e., Jehovah] is in the said place called one (אחד), But there are three names, and how can they be one? And although we read one (אחד), are they really one? Now this is revealed by the vision of the Holy Ghost, and when the eyes are closed we get to know that the three are only one. This is also the mystery of the voice. The voice is only one, find yet it consists of three elements, fire [i.e., warmth], air [i.e., breath], and water [i.e., humidity], yet are all these one in the mystery of the voice, and can only be one. Thus also Jehovah, Elohenu, and Jehovah constitute one—three forms which are one. And this is indicated by the voice which man raises [i.e., at prayer], thereby to comprehend spiritually the most perfect unity of theEn Sophfor the finite, since all the three [i.e., Jehovah, Elohenu, Jehovah] are rend with the same loud voice, which comprises in itself a trinity. And this is the daily confession of the divine unity which, as a mystery, is revealed by the Holy Ghost. This unity has been explained[139]in different ways, yet he who understands it in this way is right, and he who understands it in another way is also right. The idea of unity, however formed by us here below, from the mystery of the audible voice which is one, explains the thing.” (Sohar, ii, 43b.)On another occasion we are informed that R. Eleazar, whilst sitting with his father R. Simeon, was anxious to know how the two names,JehovahandElohim, can be interchanged, seeing that the one denotesmercyand the otherjudgment. Before giving the discussion between the father and the son, it is necessary to remark that whenever the two divine names, Adonai (אדוני) and Jehovah (יהוה), immediately follow each other,Jehovahis pointed and read (יְהֹוִה)Elohim. The reason of this, as it is generally supposed, is to avoid the repetition of Adonai, Adonai, since the Tetragrammaton is otherwise always pointed and read (יְהֹוָה). The Kabbalah, however, as we shall see, discovers in it a recondite meaning,31“R. Eleazar, when sitting before his father R. Simeon, said to him, we have been taught that wheneverElohim(אלהיﬦ) occurs, it denotesJustice. Now how canElohimsometimes be put forJehovah, as is the case in those passages whereinAdonai(אדוני) andJehovah(יהוה) stand together (Comp. Gen. xv, 8 ; Ezek. ii, 4 , &c.), seeing that the latter denotesmercyin all the passages in which it occurs? To which he replied, Thus it is said in the Scripture, ‘Know therefore this day and consider it in thine heart, thatJehovahisElohim’ ( Deut.iv, 19 ); and again it is written ‘JehovahisElohim.’ (Ibid., ver. 35 .) Whereupon he [i.e., the son] said, I know this forsooth, that justice is sometimes tempered with[140]mercy and mercy with justice. Quoth he [i.e., the father], Come and see that it is so; Jehovah indeed does signify mercy whenever it occurs, but when through sin mercy is changed into justice, then it is written Jehovah (יהוה), but readElohim(אלהיﬦ). Now come and see the mystery of the word [i.e., Jehovah]. There are three degrees, and each degree exists by itself [i.e., in the Deity], although the three together constitute one, they are closely united into one and are inseparable from each other.” (Sohar, iii, 65a.)We shall only give one more passage bearing on the subject of the Trinity.32“He who reads the word (אחד)One[i.e., in the declaration of the divine unityשמע] must pronouncethe Aleph(א) quickly, shorten its sound a little, and not pause at all by this letter, and he who obeys this, his life will be lengthened. Whereupon they [i.e., the disciples] said to him [i.e., to R. Ilai], he [i.e., R. Simeon] has said, There are two, and one is connected with them, and they are three; but in being three they are one. He said to them, those two names, Jehovah Jehovah, are in the declaration ‘Hear O Israel’ ( Deut. vi, 4 ), andElohenu(אלהנו), between them, is united with them as the third, and this is the conclusion which is sealed with the impression ofTruth(אמת). But when these three are combined into a unity, they are one in a single unity.” (Sohar, iii, 262a.) Indeed one Codex of theSoharhad the following remark on the words “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts” ( Isa. iv, 3 );קדוש זה אב קדוש זה בן קדוש זה רוחהקדש,the first holy refers to the Holy Father; the second to the Holy Son; and the third to the Holy[141]Ghost.33This passage, however, is omitted from the present recensions of theSohar. Some Jewish writers have felt these passages to be so favourable to the doctrine of the Trinity, that they insist upon their being interpolations into theSohar, whilst others have tried to explain them as referring to theSephiroth.34As to the atonement of the Messiah for the sins of the people, this is not only propounded in theSohar, but is given as the explanation of the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah.35“When the righteous are visited with sufferings and afflictions to atone for the sins of the world, it is that they might atone for all the sins of this generation. How is this proved? By all the members of the body. When all members suffer, one member is afflicted in order that all may recover. And which of them? The arm. The arm is beaten, the blood is taken from it, and then the recovery of all the members of the body is secured. So it is with the children of the world: they are members one of another. When the Holy One; blessed be he, wishes the recovery of the world, he afflicts one righteous from their midst, and for his sake all are healed. How is this shown? It is written—‘He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, … and with his stripes we are healed.’ ( Isa. liii, 5 .) ‘With his stripes,’i.e., healed, as by the wound of bleeding an arm, and with this wound we are healed,i.e., it was a healing to[142]each one of us as members of the body.” (Sohar, iii, 218a.) To the same effect is the following passage.36“Those souls which tarry in the nether garden of Eden hover about the world, and when they see suffering or patient martyrs and those who suffer for the unity of God, they return and mention it to the Messiah. When they tell the Messiah of the afflictions of Israel in exile, and that the sinners among them do not reflect in order to know their Lord, he raises his voice and weeps because of those sinners, as it is written, ‘he is wounded for our transgressions.’ ( Isa. liii, 5 .) Whereupon those souls return and take their place. In the garden of Eden there is one palace which is called the palace of the sick. The Messiah goes into this palace and invokes all the sufferings, pain, and afflictions of Israel to come upon him, and they all come upon him. Now if he did not remove them thus and take them upon himself, no man could endure the sufferings of Israel, due as punishment for transgressing the Law; as it is written—‘Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows,’&c. ( Isa. liii, 4 , with Rom. xii, 3, 4 .) When the children of Israel were in the Holy Land they removed all those sufferings and afflictions from the world by their prayers and sacrifices, but now the Messiah removes them from the world.” (Sohar, ii, 212b.)That these opinions favour, to a certain extent, the doctrines of the Trinity and the Atonement, though not in the orthodox sense, is not only admitted by many of the Jewish literati who are adverse to the Kabbalah, but by some of its[143]friends. Indeed, the very fact that so large a number of Kabbalists have from time to time embraced the Christian faith would of itself show that there must be some sort of affinity between the tenets of the respective systems. Some of these converts occupied the highest position in the Synagogue, both as pious Jews and literary men. We need only specify Paul Ricci, physician to the Emperor Maximilian I; Julius Conrad Otto, author ofThe Unveiled Secrets(גלא רזיא), consisting of extracts from theTalmudand theSohar, to prove the validity of the Christian doctrine (Nürenberg, 1805); John Stephen Rittengal, grandson of the celebrated Don Isaac Abravanel, and translator ofThe Book Jetzira, orof Creation(ספר יצירה), into Latin (Amsterdam, 1642); and Jacob Frank, the great apostle of the Kabbalah in the eighteenth century, whose example in professing Christianity was followed by several thousands of his disciples.37The testimony of these distinguished Kabbalists, which they give in their elaborate works, about the affinity of some of the doctrines of this theosophy with those of Christianity, is by no means to be slighted; and this is fully corroborated by the celebrated Leo di Modena, who, as an orthodox Jew, went so far as to question whether God will ever forgive those who printed the Kabbalistic works.38The use made by some well-meaning Christians of the above-named Kabbalistic canons of interpretation, in controversies with Jews, to prove that the doctrines of Christianity are concealed under the letter of the Old Testament, will now be deprecated by every one who has any regard for the laws of language. As a literary curiosity, however, we shall give one or two specimens. No less a person than the celebrated[144]Reuchlin would have it that the doctrine of the Trinity is to be found in the first verse of Genesis. He submits, if the Hebrew wordברא, which is translatedcreated, be examined, and if each of the three letters composing this word be taken as the initial of a separate word, we obtain the expressionsבן רוח אבSon,Spirit,Father, according to Rule 2 (p.131). Upon the same principle this erudite scholar deduces the first two persons in the Trinity from the words—“the stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner” ( Ps. cxviii, 22 ), by dividing the three letters composing the wordאבןstone, intoאב בןFather,Son(Comp.De VerboMirifico, Basel, 1494). In more recent times we find it maintained that the ‘righteousness’ spoken of in Daniel ix, 24 , meansthe Anointed of Jehovah, because the original phrase,צדק עלמיםis by Gematria, = numerical value, (which is Rule 1, given above, p.131), the same asמשיח יהוה. So pleased is the author with this discovery, that he takes great care to remark—“It is a proof which I believe has hitherto escaped the notice of interpreters.” Such proofs, however, of the Messiaship of Christ bring no honour to our religion; and in the present day argue badly both against him who adduces them and against him who is convinced by them.[145]
1110987654321[כיטחזוהדגבא]מנסעפצקרשתל[לכיטחזוהדגא]orמנסעפצקרשתב
These anagramic alphabets obtain their respective names from the first two specimen pairs of letter which indicate the interchange. Thus, for instance, the first is calledAlbathאל״בתfrom the first words, the secondAbgathאב״גת, and so on. The following table exhibits the established rules of the alphabetical permutations.
כםינטסחעזפוצהקדרגשבתאל1.Albath.לםכניסטעחפזצוקהרדשגתאב2.Abgath.במלנכסיעטפחצזקורהשדתאג3.Agdath.נמלסכעיפטצחקזרושהתבגאד4.Adbag.גנמסלעכפיצטקחרזשותבדאה5.Ahbad.נסמעלפכציקטרחשזתגדבהאו6.Avba.דסנעמפלצכקירטשחתגהבואז7.Azbav.סענפמצלקכרישטתדהגובזאח8.Achbaz.העספנצמקלרכשיתדוגזבחאט9.Atbach.עפסצנקמרלשכתהודזגחבטאי10.Aibat.ופעצסקנרמשלתהזדחגטביאכ11.Achbi.פצעקסרנשמתוזהחדטגיבכאל12.Albach.וצפקערסשנתוחהטדיגכבלאמ13.Ambal.צקפרעשסתזחוטהידכגלבמאנ14.Anbam.חקצרפשעתזטויהכדלגםבנאס15.Asban.קרצשפתחטזיוכהלדמגנבסאע16.Aabas.טרקשטתחיזכולהמדנגסבעאפ17.Afba.רשקתטיחכזלומהנדסגעבפאצ18.Azbaf.ישרתטכחלזמונהסדעגפבצאק19.Akbaz.שתיכטלחמזנוסהעדפגצבקאר20.Arbak.כתילטמחנזסועהפדצגכבראש21.Ashbar.כלימטנחסזעופהצדקגרבשאת22.Athbash.To this list is to be added—שתקרפצסעמנכלטיזחהוגדאב23.Abgad.כתישטרחקזצופהעדסגנבםאל24.Albam.
[138]
Besides these canons the Kabbalah also sees a recondite sense in the form of the letters, as well as in the ornaments which adorn them.
As to the relation of the Kabbalah to Christianity, it is maintained that this theosophy propounds the doctrine of the trinity and the sufferings of Messiah. How far this is true may be ascertained from the following passages.30“We have already remarked in several places that the daily liturgical declaration about the divine unity is that which is indicated in the Bible ( Deut. vi, 43 ), whereJehovahoccurs first, thenElohenu, and then againJehovah, which three together constitute a unity, and for this reason he [i.e., Jehovah] is in the said place called one (אחד), But there are three names, and how can they be one? And although we read one (אחד), are they really one? Now this is revealed by the vision of the Holy Ghost, and when the eyes are closed we get to know that the three are only one. This is also the mystery of the voice. The voice is only one, find yet it consists of three elements, fire [i.e., warmth], air [i.e., breath], and water [i.e., humidity], yet are all these one in the mystery of the voice, and can only be one. Thus also Jehovah, Elohenu, and Jehovah constitute one—three forms which are one. And this is indicated by the voice which man raises [i.e., at prayer], thereby to comprehend spiritually the most perfect unity of theEn Sophfor the finite, since all the three [i.e., Jehovah, Elohenu, Jehovah] are rend with the same loud voice, which comprises in itself a trinity. And this is the daily confession of the divine unity which, as a mystery, is revealed by the Holy Ghost. This unity has been explained[139]in different ways, yet he who understands it in this way is right, and he who understands it in another way is also right. The idea of unity, however formed by us here below, from the mystery of the audible voice which is one, explains the thing.” (Sohar, ii, 43b.)
On another occasion we are informed that R. Eleazar, whilst sitting with his father R. Simeon, was anxious to know how the two names,JehovahandElohim, can be interchanged, seeing that the one denotesmercyand the otherjudgment. Before giving the discussion between the father and the son, it is necessary to remark that whenever the two divine names, Adonai (אדוני) and Jehovah (יהוה), immediately follow each other,Jehovahis pointed and read (יְהֹוִה)Elohim. The reason of this, as it is generally supposed, is to avoid the repetition of Adonai, Adonai, since the Tetragrammaton is otherwise always pointed and read (יְהֹוָה). The Kabbalah, however, as we shall see, discovers in it a recondite meaning,31“R. Eleazar, when sitting before his father R. Simeon, said to him, we have been taught that wheneverElohim(אלהיﬦ) occurs, it denotesJustice. Now how canElohimsometimes be put forJehovah, as is the case in those passages whereinAdonai(אדוני) andJehovah(יהוה) stand together (Comp. Gen. xv, 8 ; Ezek. ii, 4 , &c.), seeing that the latter denotesmercyin all the passages in which it occurs? To which he replied, Thus it is said in the Scripture, ‘Know therefore this day and consider it in thine heart, thatJehovahisElohim’ ( Deut.iv, 19 ); and again it is written ‘JehovahisElohim.’ (Ibid., ver. 35 .) Whereupon he [i.e., the son] said, I know this forsooth, that justice is sometimes tempered with[140]mercy and mercy with justice. Quoth he [i.e., the father], Come and see that it is so; Jehovah indeed does signify mercy whenever it occurs, but when through sin mercy is changed into justice, then it is written Jehovah (יהוה), but readElohim(אלהיﬦ). Now come and see the mystery of the word [i.e., Jehovah]. There are three degrees, and each degree exists by itself [i.e., in the Deity], although the three together constitute one, they are closely united into one and are inseparable from each other.” (Sohar, iii, 65a.)
We shall only give one more passage bearing on the subject of the Trinity.32“He who reads the word (אחד)One[i.e., in the declaration of the divine unityשמע] must pronouncethe Aleph(א) quickly, shorten its sound a little, and not pause at all by this letter, and he who obeys this, his life will be lengthened. Whereupon they [i.e., the disciples] said to him [i.e., to R. Ilai], he [i.e., R. Simeon] has said, There are two, and one is connected with them, and they are three; but in being three they are one. He said to them, those two names, Jehovah Jehovah, are in the declaration ‘Hear O Israel’ ( Deut. vi, 4 ), andElohenu(אלהנו), between them, is united with them as the third, and this is the conclusion which is sealed with the impression ofTruth(אמת). But when these three are combined into a unity, they are one in a single unity.” (Sohar, iii, 262a.) Indeed one Codex of theSoharhad the following remark on the words “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts” ( Isa. iv, 3 );קדוש זה אב קדוש זה בן קדוש זה רוחהקדש,the first holy refers to the Holy Father; the second to the Holy Son; and the third to the Holy[141]Ghost.33This passage, however, is omitted from the present recensions of theSohar. Some Jewish writers have felt these passages to be so favourable to the doctrine of the Trinity, that they insist upon their being interpolations into theSohar, whilst others have tried to explain them as referring to theSephiroth.34
As to the atonement of the Messiah for the sins of the people, this is not only propounded in theSohar, but is given as the explanation of the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah.35“When the righteous are visited with sufferings and afflictions to atone for the sins of the world, it is that they might atone for all the sins of this generation. How is this proved? By all the members of the body. When all members suffer, one member is afflicted in order that all may recover. And which of them? The arm. The arm is beaten, the blood is taken from it, and then the recovery of all the members of the body is secured. So it is with the children of the world: they are members one of another. When the Holy One; blessed be he, wishes the recovery of the world, he afflicts one righteous from their midst, and for his sake all are healed. How is this shown? It is written—‘He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, … and with his stripes we are healed.’ ( Isa. liii, 5 .) ‘With his stripes,’i.e., healed, as by the wound of bleeding an arm, and with this wound we are healed,i.e., it was a healing to[142]each one of us as members of the body.” (Sohar, iii, 218a.) To the same effect is the following passage.36“Those souls which tarry in the nether garden of Eden hover about the world, and when they see suffering or patient martyrs and those who suffer for the unity of God, they return and mention it to the Messiah. When they tell the Messiah of the afflictions of Israel in exile, and that the sinners among them do not reflect in order to know their Lord, he raises his voice and weeps because of those sinners, as it is written, ‘he is wounded for our transgressions.’ ( Isa. liii, 5 .) Whereupon those souls return and take their place. In the garden of Eden there is one palace which is called the palace of the sick. The Messiah goes into this palace and invokes all the sufferings, pain, and afflictions of Israel to come upon him, and they all come upon him. Now if he did not remove them thus and take them upon himself, no man could endure the sufferings of Israel, due as punishment for transgressing the Law; as it is written—‘Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows,’&c. ( Isa. liii, 4 , with Rom. xii, 3, 4 .) When the children of Israel were in the Holy Land they removed all those sufferings and afflictions from the world by their prayers and sacrifices, but now the Messiah removes them from the world.” (Sohar, ii, 212b.)
That these opinions favour, to a certain extent, the doctrines of the Trinity and the Atonement, though not in the orthodox sense, is not only admitted by many of the Jewish literati who are adverse to the Kabbalah, but by some of its[143]friends. Indeed, the very fact that so large a number of Kabbalists have from time to time embraced the Christian faith would of itself show that there must be some sort of affinity between the tenets of the respective systems. Some of these converts occupied the highest position in the Synagogue, both as pious Jews and literary men. We need only specify Paul Ricci, physician to the Emperor Maximilian I; Julius Conrad Otto, author ofThe Unveiled Secrets(גלא רזיא), consisting of extracts from theTalmudand theSohar, to prove the validity of the Christian doctrine (Nürenberg, 1805); John Stephen Rittengal, grandson of the celebrated Don Isaac Abravanel, and translator ofThe Book Jetzira, orof Creation(ספר יצירה), into Latin (Amsterdam, 1642); and Jacob Frank, the great apostle of the Kabbalah in the eighteenth century, whose example in professing Christianity was followed by several thousands of his disciples.37The testimony of these distinguished Kabbalists, which they give in their elaborate works, about the affinity of some of the doctrines of this theosophy with those of Christianity, is by no means to be slighted; and this is fully corroborated by the celebrated Leo di Modena, who, as an orthodox Jew, went so far as to question whether God will ever forgive those who printed the Kabbalistic works.38
The use made by some well-meaning Christians of the above-named Kabbalistic canons of interpretation, in controversies with Jews, to prove that the doctrines of Christianity are concealed under the letter of the Old Testament, will now be deprecated by every one who has any regard for the laws of language. As a literary curiosity, however, we shall give one or two specimens. No less a person than the celebrated[144]Reuchlin would have it that the doctrine of the Trinity is to be found in the first verse of Genesis. He submits, if the Hebrew wordברא, which is translatedcreated, be examined, and if each of the three letters composing this word be taken as the initial of a separate word, we obtain the expressionsבן רוח אבSon,Spirit,Father, according to Rule 2 (p.131). Upon the same principle this erudite scholar deduces the first two persons in the Trinity from the words—“the stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner” ( Ps. cxviii, 22 ), by dividing the three letters composing the wordאבןstone, intoאב בןFather,Son(Comp.De VerboMirifico, Basel, 1494). In more recent times we find it maintained that the ‘righteousness’ spoken of in Daniel ix, 24 , meansthe Anointed of Jehovah, because the original phrase,צדק עלמיםis by Gematria, = numerical value, (which is Rule 1, given above, p.131), the same asמשיח יהוה. So pleased is the author with this discovery, that he takes great care to remark—“It is a proof which I believe has hitherto escaped the notice of interpreters.” Such proofs, however, of the Messiaship of Christ bring no honour to our religion; and in the present day argue badly both against him who adduces them and against him who is convinced by them.[145]